Complete All-Ping! Teams
Six Ohio Valley Conference baseball players were named to the 2009 All Ping! Baseball Teams on Friday. That included two second-team selections in Eastern Illinois outfielder Brett Nommensen and Murray State pitcher Daniel Calhoun, and four honorable mention picks in Southeast Missouri catcher Jim Klocke, Eastern Kentucky third baseman Jayson Langfels, Eastern Illinois utility player Richie Derbak and Tennessee Tech utility player A.J. Kirby-Jones.
Nommensen was leading the nation in on-base and slugging percentage when he broke a bone in his wrist April 10. He was able to return for the OVC Tournament and reached base safely in five of his seven plate appearances in EIU’s two games. The senior finished the season with 26 extra-base hits, including 11 home runs, in only 101 at-bats. His .525 average represents a new EIU single-season record and he also tied the program’s all-time runs scored mark in his final collegiate game.
Calhoun, the 2009 Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, finished the junior campaign with a record of 11-3 and a 2.32 ERA. He set a single-season record with 11 complete games and tied former Major League All-Star Kirk Rueter with the 11 victories. More impressively, Calhoun walked just six batters in 97 innings. His 0.56 walks-per-nine-innings ranks first nationally. He also added 85 strikeouts, which is fifth-most in school history. In his 14 starts, Calhoun allowed three earned runs or less in 13 starts, including no earned runs in two. In his second start of the season, Calhoun tossed a seven-inning complete-game four-hit shutout in a 1-0 victory over Illinois State. He came back one-week later against North Dakota State and struck out a career-best 14, while allowing one unearned run in a two-hit complete game.
Klocke earned All-OVC first-team honors for the second consecutive season while leading the Redhawks at the plate with a .394 batting average. He also the led the team in runs scored (56), doubles (20), and on-base percentage (.484). The right-handed hitter was also among team leaders with nine home runs and 46 runs batted in. In his first year in the closer role, Klocke also recorded seven saves this season, which ranks third all-time for most saves in a single season. He pitched 23.2 innings in 17 appearances on the mound, and he recorded 22 strikeouts while allowing just seven walks.
Langfels won the OVC batting title in 2009 with a .441 batting average while leading the Colonels with 72 RBI and 12 home runs. The Lexington, Ky. native was voted first team All-OVC by league coaches and SIDs at the conclusion of the season. He was one of only two sophomores on the first team. A Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2008, Langfels exploded as one of the top hitters in the OVC in 2009. His .441 batting average was one of the best in modern EKU history and his 72 RBI ranks third on the all-time EKU single-season list. He was also second in the league in triples (6), total bases (136) and slugging percentage (.800). The sophomore blasted a team-best 12 home runs this season and displayed a propensity for delivering in the clutch as two of his home runs were walk-off jobs and one of them came at home against in-state rival Western Kentucky on March 18.
Derbak, a first-team All-OVC selection, was the team’s top two-way player, handling a prominent role in 13 victories (six wins, seven saves) on the mound. He hit safely in each of the first 17 games of the season and will carry a 10-game hitting streak into his senior year. And along with leading EIU in hits, he was also the toughest player to strikeout in the OVC. Derbak struck out 43 on the mound while fanning only 10 times in his 203 plate appearances.
Kirby-Jones, the MVP of the OVC Baseball Championship, hit .325 with 64 hits, 49 runs, 15 doubles and a TTU record 20 home runs in 2009. He added 68 RBI while slugging .706 with a .445 on-base percentage in 56 games. Kirby-Jones also pitched in 18 games, compiling a 3-3 record, 5.51 ERA and 3 saves. He was named a second-team All-OVC selection.
Second Team
OF - Brett Nommensen, Eastern Illinois
P - Daniel Calhoun, Murray State
Honorable Mention
C - Jim Klocke, Southeast Missouri
3B - Jayson Langfels, Eastern Kentucky
UT - Richie Derbak, Eastern Illinois
UT - A.J. Kirby-Jones, Tennessee Tech